The first factor is the federal law allow NTID/RIT to admit deaf foreigners which Gallaudet used to have the entire monopoly on the admission of many deaf foreigners (overseas) for many years.

That changed the admission playing field for Gallaudet and NTID in many ways.

The second factor is the rising tutiton cost at Gallaudet University within reduced congressional monetary fundings.

Gallaudet could not possibly provide any direct federal fundings to cover deaf foreign students’ tutiton after the GOP Congress in 1996 discovered about many foreigners admitted to Howard University of Washington, DC at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.

That’s how the deaf foreign student enrollment numbers at Gallaudet University have been sharply decreased.

More and more state VR counselors hardly bother to send their own clients to Gallaudet University and prefer them to be educated at community college or state university or in-state university.

Those factors have been understandably played in Gallaudet ‘s dramatic enrollment number drop. The current state of American economy is another factor, too.

RLM

1. the declining enrollment at Gallaudet is not unique. in fact, many colleges/universities are facing the similar situations. some pointed to the current economy as the main factor. but at gallaudet, yes, the enrollment has been noticeably down and frankly, to me, it is good news! for years, gallaudet has been known as the school with a revolving door for anyone else in particular to enter and leave.

fernandes and jordan does not care about the quality of academics. they cared about the numbers, numbers and numbers. the classes that i had at gallaudet lacked stimulation, challenging and innovation. i had a couple of professors who dished candies to the students who answered the questions correctly as if we were in kindergarten!

and i had been in touch with students at gallaudet, they had told me that the quality of academics has been elevated to a point where the admissions truly screened applicants and chose well-qualified applicants to enter gallaudet. to me, that is good news. the applicants that failed to enter gallaudet can always enter NTID/RIT for all I care!

2. about curtis pride: someone indicated that he lacks coaching experience. i had to burst out laughing at this notion, really. curtis has been heavily involved with professional baseball teams all over the country and not only that, he also established his foundation that deals with literacy and mentoring.

curtis already interacted with the world’s best coaches in baseball frequently — which is something that Deaf athletes notably lacked the most. his ability to share his wealth of experiences to deaf players at Gallaudet is going to be immeasurable.

3. carol, gallaudet’s board of trustees has already reported that they are opening the presidential search and why do you fabricate and complain about things that were not even there in the first place?

R-

‘Diversity doesn’t mean equality’ That’s a good quote.

Please don’t confuse the permanent position with the interim position. It’s unfair to compare the length of presidential searches for Fernandes and Davila.

Thanks, Gallaudet Athletics, for the clarification. I was thinking of his child who is using cochlear implants.

Dianrez and Ann C, yes, Gallaudet is facing a new wave of deaf mainstreamed students unaccustomed to deaf settings. Likely Gallaudet will continue to evolve in a response to the changing demographics of students. Even more reason to pick a president who is capable of showing excellent leadership accepted by its stakeholders.

The acceptance of diversity at Gally begs the question, “Is that going to be enough to get Gally past dwindling enrollment figures and get current with the employment picture of today and the near future?”

One has to look at why more deaf students are looking to NTID or a hearing college as a college choice. Employment picture looms large, especially in this day and age. So, career choice is being taken far more seriously than 20 years ago.

Plus, tuition costs have skyrocketed, and that is another sobering factor in college choice. Students will want more bang for their college loan bucks.

Lastly, many deaf students are coming from the mainstream education experience and fewer students from deaf schools. Do mainstream graduates come to college with higher expectations?

I realize that college is a place to become oneself away from family influences, to develop not only skills for a career but also skills for social interaction. But developing career skills to land the first paying job that launches a career will be the first and foremost priority in today’s student’s mind.

What about on and off the field in the next few years? Education and grades matter as much as character. Take this from one who were on both sides priorities-wise.

Gallaudet baseball has one of the most difficult challenges in all of deafdom. Within the spectrum of sports baseball players are another breed almost always requiring year-round training and other considerations. Many have very mainstream mindsets and are very fickle about fitting in Deaf society. I see similarities in ice hockey and certain sports heavy with individuals from the mainstream. They come with high, real-world expectations.

Deaf schools athletes often play multiple sports during high school years due to extremely tiny enrollments (the largest nowadays has no more than 200-250) enrolled). Very small!

That’s the common reality confronting Gallaudet. I have been sitting on the hill watching this scenario unfold leaving many scrambling for position. It’s all old news to me. Old hat, really.

In terms of results in competition real benchmarks for Gallaudet Athletics are found in the Capital Athletic Conference and in the NCAA postseason. Filler non-conference games are mostly good for morale. I’m in favor of Gallaudet once again increasing rigors in admission standards immediately. Whatever it takes, really.